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Walking the Labyrinth: A Place to Pray and Seek God
One day Travis Scholl discovered a labyrinth in his neighborhood. As he began to walk it, he found this ancient practice offered a much-needed path away from life's demands, allowing him to encounter God in quiet solitude. In this meditative guide, Travis Scholl takes readers on a journey: "The path is always new, because, as a spiritual discipline, the labyrinth is a tool for contemplation, for reflection, for prayer. Underneath the surface, walking the labyrinth is a profound exercise in listening, in active silence, in finding movement and rhythm in the stillnesses underneath and in between every day's noise. Walking the labyrinth is an exercise in finding the voice speaking in whispers underneath the whirlwind of sound." With no end, but only a center, labyrinths become a physical symbol of prayer and our journey with God. Each step unites faith and action as travelers take one step at a time, living each moment in trust and willingness to follow the course set before them. Providing a historical and modern context for this unique spiritual discipline, Scholl weaves his own journey through a labyrinth with the Gospel of Mark's telling of the twists and turns of Jesus' life, providing 40 reflections ideal for daily reading during Lent or any time of the year.
- GenresChristian
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
16 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Travis Scholl
2 books3 followersA writer, preacher, and teacher, Travis Scholl’s most recent book is Walking the Labyrinth, a work of creative nonfiction centered on the labyrinth as an image of the life of faith. He is managing editor of theological publications at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis where he edits Concordia Journal and concordiatheology.org.
Scholl writes for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on religion and culture, and his published work also includes poetry, essays, and scholarly articles. He has spoken and preached among a wide variety of audiences.
Scholl is a PhD candidate in English in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Missouri, Columbia. He holds an MDiv from Yale University Divinity School and a BA from Valparaiso University.
Scholl writes for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on religion and culture, and his published work also includes poetry, essays, and scholarly articles. He has spoken and preached among a wide variety of audiences.
Scholl is a PhD candidate in English in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Missouri, Columbia. He holds an MDiv from Yale University Divinity School and a BA from Valparaiso University.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 7, 2015
Walking the Labyrinth, Travis Scholl. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2014
Summary: The book consists of a series of reflections over the forty days of Lent intermingling thoughts on the gospel of Mark, life, and the daily walking of a labyrinth in the churchyard of a neighborhood church.
Travis Scholl discovers a labyrinth in a churchyard in his neighborhood and determines to walk it over the forty days of Lent. Each day, he reflects on a portion of the gospel of Mark, interweaving these reflections with thoughts about life, and the peculiar type of pilgrimage that is walking the labyrinth.
The book begins with a helpful explanation of the history of labyrinths from the myth of Ariadne's thread to the appropriation of the idea of walking labyrinths as a Christian practice--a kind of pilgrimage both to the center of one's life and the center of one's relationship with God.
The use of Mark's gospel seems especially appropriate. Jesus seems to be perpetually walking in this gospel--a labyrinthine journey around and around Galilee, into the Decapolis and the regions of Tyre and Sidon, and then on to Jerusalem and the cross, which perhaps not coincidentally we learn forms the center of the labyrinth.
Scholl attempts to walk the labyrinth every day, coming at various times in all kinds of weather from snow to the incipient heat of summer. His reflections concern such things as pilgrimage in the middle of things, the seeming labyrinthine and circular natures of life, the westward facing entrance of the labyrinth, symbolizing both death and the hope of the life to come, the cross at the center of the labyrinth and his own life, and much more.
One of my favorite reflections was on the labyrinth being like the seed of the kingdom -- growing day and night. The seed is itself a kind of labyrinth from which life emerges. Another is on the impossibility of keeping the kingdom secret, as secret as our practices might be. Jesus is in seclusion and sought out by the Syrophonecian women who answers his parable or riddle with a parable. She understands the secret of the kingdom that is found in Jesus, and receives her daughter whole.
Perhaps the final reflections tracing the way of the cross are among the best, as is the very last which captures the incredible excitement of the women's report, "He is risen. He is going ahead of you into Galilee." The labyrinthine journey of Jesus begins and ends in Galilee, just as one enters and emerges from the labyrinth in the same place.
The author concludes the book with recommendations and resources for those who want to walk the labyrinth and provides a day by day list of his readings in the gospel of Mark. In some ways, it was better that I read his book at a time other than Lent. While it could be helpful to use these reflections during Lent, there is a part of me that is inspired to find my own labyrinth and journal my own reflections, using Scholl's book not as a devotional, but as a model. We shall see...
Summary: The book consists of a series of reflections over the forty days of Lent intermingling thoughts on the gospel of Mark, life, and the daily walking of a labyrinth in the churchyard of a neighborhood church.
Travis Scholl discovers a labyrinth in a churchyard in his neighborhood and determines to walk it over the forty days of Lent. Each day, he reflects on a portion of the gospel of Mark, interweaving these reflections with thoughts about life, and the peculiar type of pilgrimage that is walking the labyrinth.
The book begins with a helpful explanation of the history of labyrinths from the myth of Ariadne's thread to the appropriation of the idea of walking labyrinths as a Christian practice--a kind of pilgrimage both to the center of one's life and the center of one's relationship with God.
The use of Mark's gospel seems especially appropriate. Jesus seems to be perpetually walking in this gospel--a labyrinthine journey around and around Galilee, into the Decapolis and the regions of Tyre and Sidon, and then on to Jerusalem and the cross, which perhaps not coincidentally we learn forms the center of the labyrinth.
Scholl attempts to walk the labyrinth every day, coming at various times in all kinds of weather from snow to the incipient heat of summer. His reflections concern such things as pilgrimage in the middle of things, the seeming labyrinthine and circular natures of life, the westward facing entrance of the labyrinth, symbolizing both death and the hope of the life to come, the cross at the center of the labyrinth and his own life, and much more.
One of my favorite reflections was on the labyrinth being like the seed of the kingdom -- growing day and night. The seed is itself a kind of labyrinth from which life emerges. Another is on the impossibility of keeping the kingdom secret, as secret as our practices might be. Jesus is in seclusion and sought out by the Syrophonecian women who answers his parable or riddle with a parable. She understands the secret of the kingdom that is found in Jesus, and receives her daughter whole.
Perhaps the final reflections tracing the way of the cross are among the best, as is the very last which captures the incredible excitement of the women's report, "He is risen. He is going ahead of you into Galilee." The labyrinthine journey of Jesus begins and ends in Galilee, just as one enters and emerges from the labyrinth in the same place.
The author concludes the book with recommendations and resources for those who want to walk the labyrinth and provides a day by day list of his readings in the gospel of Mark. In some ways, it was better that I read his book at a time other than Lent. While it could be helpful to use these reflections during Lent, there is a part of me that is inspired to find my own labyrinth and journal my own reflections, using Scholl's book not as a devotional, but as a model. We shall see...
February 16, 2015
Even though this book was written as a reflection through Lent, I enjoyed reading it outside of the season. Scholl provides an intimate look into his practice of walking a labyrinth each day of Lent and pairing it with reading through the Gospel of Mark. Many stories interweave into a telling of a Christian faith journey.
October 9, 2025
This book was a good companion as I discoverer praying through a labyrinth as part of a seminary class project. I loved how Scholl used the Gospel of Mark as a launching point to his reflection on the sometimes tangible, sometimes elusive connection between the physical realities and the spiritual landscape of our journeys with Jesus. This is a book that could be read slowly and devotionally (and I might revisit it sometime doing just that!) or more swiftly as an introduction to the labyrinth as a discipline of Christian faith.
December 16, 2021
This book is a thoughtful, well-written look at prayer walking, specifically within the confines of a labyrinth. It is full of interesting history about the uses of the labyrinth in church history. The book was written during 40 days of Lent, but it’s an enjoyable read even now in summer. I enjoyed attending a writing workshop by the author several years ago, and I knew his book would be wonderful. It does not disappoint.
July 9, 2022
Travis Scholl commits to walking the outdoor labyrinth in the church grounds near his workplace every day for the 40 days of Lent. The way he pairs his walking experiences with his reflections on the gospel of Mark brings the gospel story to life in a profound way.
April 5, 2015
A really good exercise in listening especially during the 40 days of Lent.
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July 28, 2018A gift to me (and my sisters) from my dad, representing his broadening spiritual growth. Helpful in the journey of understanding and using labyrinth walking as a spiritual tool.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews